Guzman, Pedro

Born on 18 November, 1956 in RÃ­o Piedras, Puerto Rico, GuzmÃ¡n took an early interest in music, learning to play the guitar and avidly listening to music by the time he was five years old. Later he joined the chorus at his high school and church.

By age 13, GuzmÃ¡n formed a band together with his sister and went on to perform on a radio show contest, winning first prize. His musical training continued at the Caguas Free School of Music. During the course of his studies, in 1970, GuzmÃ¡n became a professional musician as a member of Cuqui RodrÃ­guez Quintet, playing guitar, bass guitar and sometimes the cuatro.

In that same year, GuzmÃ¡n made his first recording, with a group called the Orquesta AlgodÃ³n de AzÃºcar. He moved on to perform with several other salsa bands but dabbled with playing jazz. In 1972, GuzmÃ¡n recorded a Christmas album with a band called Puerto Rico 72, with which he toured in Peru. GuzmÃ¡n subsequently toured in Texas with another band and even lived there for a short time, playing Latin music in the local night clubs. On his return to Puerto Rico, he joins Grupo Transito, playing the bass and cuatro with them for seven years.

The success of Pedro GuzmÃ¡n and JÃ­baro Jazz can be said to come from their ability to “transcend not only cultural limits, but cultural as well”. GuzmÃ¡n applied the same instruments used in the traditional jÃ­baro music and but transformed it by exploring all the capabilties of those instruments and applying them to present the traditional in a new style. The uniqueness is evident in the following example of GuzmÃ¡n playing a seis: Seis Antillano.